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A review by thereadingrambler
Pulling the Wings Off Angels by K.J. Parker
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Well, this was sure something to read. Definitely don't read this if you'll be easily offended or upset by people questioning the existence of God and other blasphemy, but the theological (and existential) discomfort is essentially the point. More than questioning the existence of God, Pulling the Wings Off Angels questions if God (or the concept of God) is just. Does God just make arbitrary rules just because He can? Or is there a purpose? Can justice and mercy coexist? What do we, finite morals, actually deserve? Is sin ever justified? Is sin different from crime?
These are huge questions to pack into 138 pages, but the author does a better job of posing and then answering these questions than most philosophical treatises or monographs I've read. I won't spoil how the author answers these questions here, but suffice it to say the book does a great (if dark) job of exploring the workings of the human and divine mind.
This little novella is also surprisingly funny. In a very dark and, well, blasphemous way, but funny nonetheless. Again, this is not the book to read if you are anything close to sensitive or have aspirations of righteousness. This book will not only offend you but make you feel dirty. Parker has no shame in not only co-opting theological history, but all history. The reader will quickly match up the events and characters with real-world counterparts as they are only lightly fictionalized. This is part of the humor, but also part of the overarching point of the book, because the questions the book asks have been asked (and continue to be asked) but thinkers (and individuals) today. The debate that lies at the center of the book was a central topic of conversation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and Parker imagines what "Europe" would've looked like if history had gone slightly differently.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book, but only to people with a total disregard of Christianity (or at who are least willing to question their own faith) and with a somewhat twisted sense of humor.
These are huge questions to pack into 138 pages, but the author does a better job of posing and then answering these questions than most philosophical treatises or monographs I've read. I won't spoil how the author answers these questions here, but suffice it to say the book does a great (if dark) job of exploring the workings of the human and divine mind.
This little novella is also surprisingly funny. In a very dark and, well, blasphemous way, but funny nonetheless. Again, this is not the book to read if you are anything close to sensitive or have aspirations of righteousness. This book will not only offend you but make you feel dirty. Parker has no shame in not only co-opting theological history, but all history. The reader will quickly match up the events and characters with real-world counterparts as they are only lightly fictionalized. This is part of the humor, but also part of the overarching point of the book, because the questions the book asks have been asked (and continue to be asked) but thinkers (and individuals) today. The debate that lies at the center of the book was a central topic of conversation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and Parker imagines what "Europe" would've looked like if history had gone slightly differently.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book, but only to people with a total disregard of Christianity (or at who are least willing to question their own faith) and with a somewhat twisted sense of humor.